AFC Bournemouth
After kicking off 2010 with three straight defeats in League Two, nobody could have envisaged how the next ten years would pan out for AFC Bournemouth.
The 2010s have unquestionably been the most successful decade in the club’s history with three promotions under Eddie Howe propelling the Cherries to the Premier League.
In the first of a two-part review, afcb.co.uk chronicles the main events of the first half of the past ten years, a period which included the rise from League Two to the Championship.
And the second part, which will go online tomorrow, charts the club’s momentous promotion to the Premier League and the first four-and-a-half years in the top flight.
2010
Following up the Greatest Escape would always prove to be a huge challenge for Eddie Howe’s heroes but it was one they took in their stride.
The Cherries reached the turn of the decade sitting second in League Two, five points behind Rochdale and seven ahead of third-placed Rotherham.
Howe’s team were well placed to maintain their bid for promotion having won 14 and drawn four of their 23 league games at the halfway stage of the season.
But three defeats in succession at the start of January widened the gap on the leaders to ten points and narrowed it to four on four-placed Rotherham who had three games in hand.
The ship was steadied by five wins and three draws in their next ten games with promotion rivals Notts County failing to beat the Cherries in keenly-contested clashes at Dean Court and Meadow Lane.
A fifth promotion since the club had joined the Football League in 1923 was eventually guaranteed thanks to a 2-0 win at Burton Albion.
Goals from Brett Pitman and Alan Connell ensured St George’s Day would become St Edward’s Day as Howe guided the club back to the third tier despite being hamstrung by a transfer embargo and continuing off-field uncertainty.
“It’s been quite a story for us this season,” said Howe. “As everybody knows, we were under a transfer embargo for more than a year, but the players have been absolutely magnificent. They’ve given everything and I can’t praise them enough.”
The Cherries finished as runners-up to Notts County, one of eight clubs in League Two who would find themselves dropping into non-league before the decade was over.
Striker Brett Pitman was the only ever present in 2009/10, the Jerseyman plundering 26 league goals to retain the club’s Golden Boot.
Two crucial signings arrived in the summer with Marc Pugh and Harry Arter joining the ranks from Hereford United and Woking, respectively.
Pitman netted a hat-trick in a 5-1 win against Peterborough in the first home game in League One, his final appearance before he joined Bristol City having rejected overtures from Blackpool.
Following a 50-year absence in the fixture list, the Cherries resumed league combat with neighbours Southampton, losing 2-0 at St Mary’s in October.
Defeats by Hartlepool and MK Dons in their final two games of 2010 saw the Cherries reach the turn of the year sixth in League One, one place and one point below Southampton.
This year, the club mourned the loss of former player and manager John Benson.
2011
Although the year opened with successive wins against Swindon, Brentford and Plymouth, sought-after manager Eddie Howe was being hotly-tipped to succeed Brian Laws as Burnley boss.
A fourth win on the trot in a Sky Sports-televised clash at Colchester on January 14th would have taken the Cherries into second place, just one point behind leaders Brighton.
But following a 2-1 defeat in Essex in Howe’s 100th game as manager, he confirmed he would be travelling to Turf Moor after a compensation package had been agreed with the Lancashire club.
Howe’s departure resulted in players Lee Bradbury and Steve Fletcher, both of whom had featured against Colchester, asked to step in on a caretaker basis.
Their temporary reign started with a 0-0 draw at Rochdale before Liam Feeney scored the only goal in their first home game in charge, a 1-0 victory over Brighton which moved the Cherries into second place in League One just three points behind the Seagulls.
Ahead of the next game, a 2-1 win at Plymouth, Bradbury was appointed manager on a permanent basis, while Fletcher became player-assistant manager.
The pair presided over a ten-match unbeaten run which saw the Cherries establish a four-point lead in second place with 12 games remaining.
But back-to-back automatic promotions were scuppered after they lost six of those games as the Cherries finished sixth and squeezed into the play-offs ahead of Orient and Exeter.
However, following an epic 3-3 draw in the second leg of their semi-final against Huddersfield, the Cherries’ hopes were dashed when they lost out on penalties.
In the summer, four members of the play-off squad – Jason Pearce, Danny Hollands, Anton Robinson and Rhoys Wiggins – departed for pastures new, while loanees Adam Smith and Donal McDermott returned to their respective parent clubs.
Bradbury embarked on a rebuilding mission and drafted in goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan, new captain Adam Barrett, midfielder Steven Gregory and loan duo Scott Malone and Nathan Byrne.
A tough start to 2011/12 saw the Cherries lose six of their first seven games in League One, leaving them in the relegation zone in early September.
But at the halfway stage of the season, they had climbed to 13th and were eight points shy of the play-offs and ten clear of the bottom four and had everything to play for in 2012.
2012
In a bid to bolster the squad for a promotion push during the second half of the season, the Cherries swooped for Crawley Town striker Matt Tubbs and former loan star Donal McDermott from Huddersfield Town.
Deals were also made permanent in the January transfer window for loan players Scott Malone (Wolves), Steve Cook (Brighton), Wes Thomas (Crawley), Charlie Daniels (Orient) and Simon Francis (Charlton).
Tubbs and Malone were both on target in a 2-0 win over Exeter in early February as the Cherries climbed to eighth, just two points shy of the play-off places.
But six defeats in their next nine games saw them slip off the pace with Bradbury’s departure as manager announced following a 1-0 reverse at Oldham on March 24th.
Youth team manager Paul Groves and head of youth Shaun Brooks took charge until the end of the season as the Cherries finished the campaign in 11th place.
Groves was made permanent manager in May with Brooks his assistant, the pair bringing in Tommy Elphick from Brighton and Eunan O’Kane from Torquay ahead of the new season.
However, despite bolstering the squad with some significant additions, results did not follow and Groves and Brooks’s tenure came to an end in early October after just one win in the first ten league games of 2012/13.
A 1-0 defeat at Coventry in Dennis Rofe’s only game as caretaker manager saw the Cherries drop into the League One relegation zone.
But their fortunes were about to change in no uncertain terms with Eddie Howe’s return to the club from Burnley breathing new life into a season which had started so poorly.
“It's a different challenge and we are aware of the pitfalls those challenges bring," said Howe following his appointment.
"The expectations here have gone through the roof and we really need the supporters to get behind us. We need to unite the club, staff, players and, most importantly, the supporters.
"We just need to get the basics right before we start looking up the table. We need to improve the team spirit and get the team playing well."
One of Howe’s first moves in the transfer market was to bring back Brett Pitman, the striker drafted in on loan from Bristol City.
Pitman immediately repaid Howe’s faith when he scored a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Bury.
Four successive league wins in December saw the Cherries climb to fifth, with back-to-back 3-0 victories against Crawley and Yeovil over the festive period bringing down the curtain on a tumultuous 12 months for the club.
This year, the club mourned the loss of former manager John Bond who led the Cherries to their first promotion in 1971.
2013
A hectic start to the year saw the Cherries play no fewer than seven games in January, including two against Premier League Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.
Eunan O’Kane’s finely-taken goal at the DW Stadium was cancelled out by Jordi Gomez before Mauro Boselli netted the only goal in the replay at Vitality Stadium ten days later.
It was the first time the Cherries had reached the third round since 2005, while the Latics went on to win the FA Cup after beating Manchester City in the final.
The Cherries also had a busy month in the transfer market, bringing in four players on permanent moves, signing Dan Seaborne on loan from Southampton and doing a deal with Christchurch for Harry Cornick to join the club in the summer.
Wingers Matt Ritchie and Ryan Fraser came in from Swindon and Aberdeen, respectively, while Ryan Allsop signed from Leyton Orient and Brett Pitman’s loan was made permanent.
Ritchie, who had been a target for the club in previous transfer windows, was named League Two player of the year as Swindon romped to the title in 2011/12.
Frank Demouge (Roda) and Wes Thomas (Birmingham City) completed loan moves, while Lorenzo Davids joined Danish outfit Randers.
Although Howe’s 15-match unbeaten run in League One ended after the Cherries went down 3-1 at Walsall, five straight wins took them to the top of the table in early February.
However, just 25 days later, they had slipped to seventh following five defeats on the spin, a worrying run of results with only nine games remaining.
Fear not though as a club record run of eight wins on the bounce all but secured promotion before the Cherries missed out on the title on the final day of the season.
Despite having the better of a 0-0 draw at Tranmere, Howe’s team were pipped by Doncaster who netted a dramatic injury-time goal to win 1-0 at Brentford.
Matt Ritchie was named League One player of the season with Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels joining him in the League One team of the season. At the Football League awards, AFC Bournemouth were named League One family club of the year.
After the dust had settled on the promotion party, appearance record holder Steve Fletcher announced his retirement having played 728 times for the club.
Another busy summer of squad strengthening saw Ian Harte, Elliott Ward and Mo Coulibaly join permanently, while Andrew Surman signed on loan from Norwich.
Some supporters were pinching themselves when Cristiano Ronaldo graced the hallowed turf of Dean Court in a high-profile pre-season friendly against Real Madrid.
The Portuguese scored twice, including a trademark stunning free-kick, as new Real boss Carlo Ancelotti saw his team run out 6-0 winners.
Two goals from Lewis Grabban saw the Cherries mark their first game in the second flight since 1990 with a 2-1 victory over Charlton on the opening day of the season.
They suffered heavy defeats on their travels at Watford and Huddersfield in August, while striker Tokelo Rantie was drafted in from Malmo ahead of the transfer deadline.
Further wins against Wigan, Doncaster, Barnsley and Millwall showed Howe’s team could cut it at the level, although a seven-match winless run left them close to the relegation zone in early December.
But victories over Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Yeovil, coupled with a 1-1 draw against Ipswich, saw them reach the halfway stage in 16th and ten points clear of the relegation zone.
This year, the club mourned the loss of former players Ray Bumstead, Laurie Cunningham and Harry Hughes.
2014
A convincing 4-1 win over Burton Albion in the third round of the FA Cup earned the Cherries a date with seven-time winners Liverpool at Dean Court.
And although the hosts matched the Reds for long periods, goals from Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge saw Brendan Rodgers’s team progress in front of a crowd of 11,475.
Summer signing Tokelo Rantie came off the bench to score his first goal in front of the home supporters when he netted the winner in a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield in late January.
Boss Howe kept his powder dry in the transfer window until fairly late, bringing in Yann Kermorgant from Charlton and Adam Smith from Tottenham in the final few days.
Frenchman Kermorgant had impressed Howe when he scored for the Addicks at Dean Court on the opening day of the season, while Smith played under the Cherries manager during a youth loan in 2010/11.
They were both named on the bench for the visit of Leicester at the start of February, the Foxes triumphing thanks to a late headed goal by Kevin Phillips which the hosts did not think had crossed the line.
A busy January off the field saw Ben Whitfield (Guiseley), Jonathan Muleba (Chelsea) and Josh O’Hanlon (Longford Town) join the development squad, while Joe Roach and Carl Fletcher returned to the club as academy manager and youth team boss, respectively.
Kermorgant marked his full home debut by netting a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Doncaster Rovers, the first of six victories in March which saw the Cherries end the month just five points shy of the play-off zone.
Also in March, Steve Fletcher became the first recipient of the Sir Tom Finney Award in recognition of his 24-year career in the Football League.
Back-to-back home wins against QPR and Reading left the Cherries just two points from the play-offs with five games remaining.
But the promotion dream had to be put on hold as the Cherries eventually finished tenth, with Leicester and Burnley going up automatically and QPR through the play-offs.
Richard Hughes and Stephen Purches both announced their retirement from playing, while Shwan Jalal, a hero of the 2008/09 Greatest Escape, left for Bury.
Howe bolstered his squad in the summer with the permanent signings of Callum Wilson, Dan Gosling, Junior Stanislas and Andrew Surman and the Cherries embarked on a pre-season training camp to Austria.
Although the Cherries won their first two games in the Championship, three points from their next six matches left them in 15th place. A change of goalkeeper saw Artur Boruc drafted in on loan from Southampton.
And a 14-match unbeaten run in the Championship, which included 11 wins, saw the Cherries reach the end of the year in pole position, a point above Ipswich.
The sequence included a record-breaking 8-0 victory against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s with Marc Pugh leading the way with a hat-trick.
Victories over Exeter, Northampton, Cardiff and West Brom saw the Cherries reach the quarter-final of the League Cup for the first time in their history, with Liverpool running out 3-1 winners at Vitality Stadium in December.
This year, the club mourned the loss of much-loved former trainer John ‘Captain’ Kirk.
